Historically, in the art of bookbinding a rotating applicator roller is employed to transfer adhesive to the spine of a book block. U.S. Pat. No. 4,484,850 to Shimizu teaches use of a container of hot-melt adhesive with an application roller extending partially into the container. As a book block passes the application roller, adhesive is applied to the spine of the book block, whereafter a cover is brought into contact with the adhesive to fix the cover to the book block.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,299,410 to Jukola teaches that application of adhesive to the spine of the book has the end result of forming a rigid spine so that the book opens poorly and is difficult to read. The Jukola patent teaches that even though the material of the cover may be flexible, the spine of the book is readily broken by attempts to press the book to an open position in which both the front and back cover sections lie flat against a support surface. The soft-cover paperback book of Jukola is formed by the method of adhering a flexible, firm support member to the spine of the book block and then applying stripes of adhesive on both the first and last page of the book block for fastening of the soft cover. Because the soft cover is not attached to the spine of the book block, the cover does not resist opening of the pages. Like the prior art described above, the adhesive strips on the first and last pages of the book block are typically applied by application rollers.
The above described method for making a softcover paperback book overcomes the problem of manufacture of books which lack flexibility so that they will not lay flat without damage to the book. However, the soft-cover extends beyond the edges of the book block upon opening of the book. This interferes with the ability of the book to lay flat against the support surface. Moreover, the projecting portion of the cover at the spine of the book creates stress points which make the cover subject to crushing or other damage.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a method, and a book manufactured by such method, for attaching a cover to a book block, with the cover exerting a minimal amount of interference to the flexibility of the book and a minimal amount of interference with the ability of the book to lay flat against a support surface.